Town Court facility moves ahead

Friday

Aug 23, 2013 at 6:53 PMAug 23, 2013 at 7:31 PM

By Melody Burri melody@messengerpostmedia.com

FARMINGTON — Dust will soon fly as construction begins on a new town court facility. This follows a unanimous Town Board vote Tuesday, Aug. 13, which awarded four major contracts in the amount of $1,153,712.

Construction is set to begin on Friday, Aug. 30.

While the new structure will include many state-of-the-art safety features, it will not have the much-debated drive-up court clerk window some had hoped for.

Councilmen were divided on the optional window that would have added another $3,000 to the bids, and $6,000 to the total project cost. In the end it was voted down 3-2.

“I’ve been the biggest proponent of the drive-up window as we’ve gone along,” said Farmington Justice Morris Lew, who was present for Tuesday’s meeting. “I see it as a security advantage for our court clerks. Very often a defendant will come up to the court clerk's window and they’re either already angry or they become angry when they learn what their fine will be.”

Farmington resident and former court clerk Leslie O’Malley said there have been times she has felt nervous and uncomfortable when serving someone who was angry or argumentative.

“No one ever threatened me,” she said, “but there are times when you do feel tense — when someone is upset about something. I felt that it was important to have the outside drive-up window, and I’m sorry that the Town Board did not agree, but that’s democracy.”

Lew said the drive-up window would have been a security measure, not a convenience.

“For me it’s more about defusing potential problems,” said Lew. “Instead of the person being right there in the building, able to kick the walls, able to smash the glass — instead of taking their anger out on the taxpayer’s facility that has already been paid for — they have to take it out on their own car first. For $6,000 on a $1.1 million project, to me it was a good investment.”

Supervisor Ted Fafinski, in favor of the window initially, spoke out strongly against it Tuesday.

“The thing that turned me,” Fafinski said, “was those residents who said, ‘Wait a minute — why are you spending $6,000 of our money to make it easier for someone who was speeding to pay their ticket?’ I found that hard to argue with.”

Safety features designed into the structure will include bulletproof glass, bullet-resistant brick, a concrete-walled clerk's office, steel-reinforced doors, and a safe room.

“I’m much happier that they decided to build the building than I am unhappy that they didn’t put the drive-up window in,” said Lew. “At the end of the day we are installing that bullet-proof glass, and we don’t have that now." Judge John Gligora also voiced his gratitude to “the committee who put all this together and made this a safe, secure facility.”

The new Hook Road facility will be adjacent to the town’s newly completed $3.9 million highway complex. Both are being funded through New York State Video Lottery Terminal Impact Aid.

Clyde-based Nicoletta Building Contractors Inc. was named general contractor for the project with a bid of $730,000. Concord Electric Corporation in Rochester will provide electrical services at a cost of $120,800. Webster-based Nairy Mechanical LLC will provide plumbing services for $48,212. Amering & Johnston Inc. in Shortsville will install heating, ventilation and air conditioning for $254,700. Currently there is a $1,193,994.86 balance in the capital budget account, enough to cover the $1,153,712 in bids.